How far the Mighty have come
by FullstopBlaster
Summary: The pastmaster has ruined the world ...Massive dragons now patrol the city ...eating everything and everyone in their path, in trying to stop the dragons T-Bone is injured and is separated from Razor. Razor and Felina must find him and fight to save him.
1. Out of the smokeand into the fire

How far the mighty have come

Chapter one: Out of the smoke …and into the fire.

Beta work by: ulyferal (thanks for your help)

Razor knelt down in the street to check out an oil slick he'd seen on the ground. He touched it with a finger and brought it to his nose. Sniffing, he scented a familiar sweet odor. He rose to his feet and wiped his finger off on his g-suit's pant leg.

"Got something?" Lt. Felina Feral asked, walking up behind him. This had been one long day.

"Yeah...it's the Thundertruck alright. I put a special type of oil in the thing giving it a sweet smell...like Pomegranates." Razor said, moving a few steps down the street, eyeing the oil slick trail. "The truck must have taken a hit...come on we gotta keep moving…we have to find him."

Felina nodded as they both made for the two motorcycles parked behind them. One was the cyclotron and the other was Felina's small Honda Rebel.

"I can't believe this is happening." She said looking up at the sky. "I hate that troll and all the trouble he's brought to this city." She snarled bitterly.

"I know…come on that oil was warm so we're not that far off….we'll talk about troll slaying later." He said distractedly, getting on his bike and pulling it around, Felina close behind him.

As they followed the trail, around them the city lay in ruins. Some months ago, the Pastmaster had slipped into their world rather than roaring in as was his normal habit. He had sneakily left some large, round objects all over the city then disappeared. The katizens that spotted the objects and reported them to the enforcers. Unfortunately, by the time anyone figured out what they were and tried to destroy them, the things began to hatch.

To everyone's horror, it was quickly learned the objects had been dragon eggs. The dragons grew fast and ate everything they could catch. No matter how hard the enforcers and the SWAT Kats tried to eradicate them while they were still small, the creatures were too canny, fast and good at hiding.

Very quickly they grew to large size and were big enough to breed. They were prolific and the city was soon overrun. With their tough bodies that nearly resisted everything they shot at them, the creatures fast speed, cunningness, and ability to hide despite how big they were, made them a nearly unbeatable enemy. Megakat City was quickly being defeated.

The enforcers were taking a terrible beating, losing nearly half their officers and resources. But the worst was the loss of the Turbokat shortly after the war began. A huge red male dragon, T-Bone and Razor named Big Red, had destroyed their jet. Since then, the SWAT Kats had endured many a scuffle with the huge male that always ended with them running. No matter what they did, Big Red was proving to be far too smart and tough, easily thwarting any effort to catch or destroy him.

The katizens were reduced to hiding where they could, no one walked the streets. T-Bone and Razor's lives had been reduced to being constantly on the run, hunting the creatures, resting and hunting again. This morning was no different except for T-Bone getting bitten by one of the smaller dragons. Razor told his partner to leave since he'd been so badly hurt. Without a word T-Bone struggled into the Thunder truck and drove off. Razor hadn't been too worried at first since he had his cyclotron but as soon as he finished off the dragon he tried to reach his partner only to discover the radio wasn't working.

Felina had arrived on the scene and once Razor told her what had happened, volunteered to help him find his injured partner. It was a race against the clock to find T-Bone before he bled out from his wounds and it had already been thirty minutes...Razor hoped his partner was still alive.

Some distance ahead of the searchers, T-Bone had parked the Thunder truck in an alley. He was about ten miles from Megakat Bay where Big Red called his home in the active volcano on Anakata Island.

He was alive but barely. Blood poured from the wound, coating his neck fur and g-suit. He'd tried to stanch it but was far too weak. He'd tried the radio but found it not functioning. Reaching down below his seat with his good arm, he pressed a hidden button which began to flash under the seat. Breathing heavily he let his head fall back against the seat, praying his partner would find him soon. Consciousness deserted him moments later and his body fell limp, his restrains the only thing keeping him upright

Not far away, Razor slowed his speed and was staring at something on his dash when Felina pulled alongside him.

"What is it?" She called out to him over the noise of their bikes.

"It's T-Bone…he set off the tracking signal in the truck. It shows him just ahead of us." He shouted back in excitement. "That means he's alive. Come on...we've got to hurry!" Razor picked up the speed of his bike and raced for the spot the signal indicated, Felina not far behind.

Just as they got close, Felina spotted the truck, "There!" She shouted, swinging her bike in that direction. Razor signaled her to go to the other side of the truck while he went for the driver's side. As soon as he reached the truck, he cut his engine and barely waited for it to stop before he jumped off and went to the cab of the truck.

"T-Bone!" He cried as he saw all the blood.

Felina saw it as well and gasped. She pulled out her radio and barked into it. "I need an ambulance at the alley between Fifth and Green. Male tom cat, early thirties with major injuries and blood loss." She quickly relayed to the voice on the other end.

Razor had the truck door open and was tying a tourniquet on T-Bone's right arm. "Tell them to hurry!" He barked at Felina, knowing T-bone would not survive if he wasn't treated soon. "Stay with me pal…I gotcha." He murmured to his partner who was coming around.

"Razor.." T-Bone said slurrily.

"Shhh...easy buddy...don't talk!" Razor warned him. "I'm taking you to the enforcer resistance base! You need help now!"

"Razor reached into the cab and tried to unbuckle T-Bone's seatbelt. "You just had to have racing seat belts didn't you." Razor muttered in annoyance when he couldn't get the belt to release. He raised his glovatrix and used his small welding torch to cut the latch and free the injured tom.

"They are coming!" Felina ran around to the driver's side door and looked over Razor's shoulder. "How's he doing? She asked in concern. She winced when she got a good look at the injury.

"Looks like he may lose the arm." Razor said softly then noted T-Bone was starting to drift off. He quickly but gently shook him. "No sleeping, buddy...you gotta stay awake" He urged the tabby. He took T-Bone's face in his paws. "Felina's here...I'm here...just stay with us." Razor pleaded.

"Hard…" T-Bone's voice said thickly. He turned his head a little then reached out with his left paw for Felina who quickly leaned forward to take it. Razor moved slightly aside to give her room. "Love..." T-Bone whispered.

"I love you too." She said trying to keep her composure.

Suddenly behind them a non-descript van pulled up followed by an assault vehicle. Several Kats poured out of the van and rushed to their side. Felina and Razor reluctantly moved out of the way.

"We've gotta get him packaged and out of here before we're spotted." Felina barked, turning to combat mode.

The medics quickly took T-Bone's vitals. The head EMT looked over the SWAT Kats injury and frowned worriedly.

"He's got a pulse…get the back board!" He ordered as he quickly wrapped the arm.

Two other medics brought the backboard and soon they were carefully removing the tabby from the truck. As soon as he was on the backboard, the head EMT secured T-Bone's arm to his body so it would not move. "As soon as he's aboard let's get an IV and plasma started. He's lost too much blood and I don't want to lose him before we get him back to base." He ordered calmly.

T-Bone was quickly loaded aboard the van. The medics wasted no time starting an IV in the tabby's good arm and taking his vitals again.

Razor made for the Thunder truck and began pulling things out of it. "The trucks dead. I'm going to arm it to blow...you go on ahead with him. I'll be right behind you. Don't let them..." Razor began to tell Felina before she cut him off.

"I know ..take off his mask." She said firmly then turned and ran up to the assault vehicle. She ordered them to haul her bike aboard while she rode in the van. They did as ordered quickly.

Felina climbed into the van and shut the doors. "Let's get rolling." She barked at the driver and the van quickly took off with the assault vehicle acting as guard behind them.

As she settled on the floor next to T-Bone her heart was breaking at how badly hurt he was but she kept her face blank and professional. It wouldn't do for any of the Kats aboard with her to know how much she was involved with the SWAT Kats, especially with this one.

The medics were doing a lot of things to the tabby and asking him if he could hear them. T-Bone slowly raised his good arm up and waved it a bit looking for someone. Felina reached out and gently pushed it back down to the board.

"I'm here, relax." Was all she dared to say and said nothing more for the rest of the trip.

The head EMT placed an ambu bag over T-Bone's face and instructed Felina, "You handle this!" She nodded and began squeezing the bag at regular intervals, keeping the tom oxygenated.

Meanwhile behind them, Razor removed a few of the more portable weapons and another glovatrix from the truck and packed them on his cyclotron. Grabbing a proximity mine, he placed it on the center console and set the timer then began to move off.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, old girl. You've been good to us." He muttered regretfully, patting the truck one last time then heading for his bike at a run. Soon he was zooming in the direction his partner had gone while behind him a very loud explosion rocked the area, sending truck parts and fire into the air.

Some twenty minutes later, the van hurtled into the hidden base the enforcers had turned their basement section into from what was left of the badly damaged Enforcer Building overhead. It was fortunate they had heavily fortified floors below ground level. The cell block was now being used as office space and the armory was still intact. There were four floors below ground that had been converted to quarters, medical suite, operations center and communications. On the first floor, just below where the damaged lobby of the building, was where they had what vehicles they had left, fuel and missiles. To gain access to this their hidden base, they had blown a hole in the nearby subway that ran beside it. The newly created opening allowed them to use a subway entrance to access their new headquarters. It was guarded by a huge electrified gate that kept the smaller dragons at bay and the larger dragons couldn't enter the tunnel at all keeping them safe to plan and launch their attacks.

T-Bone was sedated and lying on an operating table while doctors worked furiously to save his life. Felina remained at his side ensuring no one removed his mask. She wore surgical garb and mask and watched as they worked on him.

'Come on T-Bone...come one...fight...don't give in!' She said silently to herself.

Meanwhile, Razor had arrived and parked his bike, securing it so no one would mess with it. He walked across the massive garage and made it to the elevator. A pair of enforcers simply nodded at him and let him pass. The animosity between the SWAT Kats and them was gone since every able Kat that could fight was needed to beat back the dragons.

Razor stopped at the floor where the medical area was and walked down to the doors and through. Standing near a pair of doors was Feral. He looked toward him when he'd heard the elevator. Razor came up to his side and look through the window near the door and saw the group working on T-Bone.

"You can't go in there." Feral said gruffly.

"I know. I trust Felina to guard T-Bone." Razor said flatly.

"Looks like you two had a run in that you didn't escape so well from." Feral said calmly. "We can't afford to lose any warrior...not even you two..." He admitted. He paused when a doctor came out of the room. "How is he?" He asked before Razor could

"He'll live…that arm though..." The doctor started to say, grimly.

"Take it off." Razor said quietly not taking his eyes off T-Bone on the other side of the glass "I know it has to come off." He shook his head and turned to Feral to ask, "Commander is Professor Hackle here?"

Feral blinked in surprise but answered readily, "Yes he is...why?"

Razor didn't answer him as he turned to the doctor again. "Take the arm off…anything to save his life but ensure you leave a proper flap for a prosthetic" Razor told him. The doctor nodded as Feral sucked in a breath but didn't speak. "Tell Felina, I'll be with Hackle," He called out to the doctor's back. The doctor nodded then disappeared back in the surgery room.

Razor turned to Feral. "Please take me to Hackle." He said.

Feral eyed him a moment then turned and lead the way down the hall without a word.

An hour or so later, T-Bone had been moved into a small recovery room that held two beds. Several machines were hooked up to him, monitoring his condition. He was being kept sedated so that he could recover faster.

He looked pale lying there on his back. His right arm was gone from the shoulder joint down. Crisp white bandages covered the stump and wrapped around his bare chest.

Half dozing in a chair beside his bed was Felina. Once the doctors said he was stable, they allowed her to lock the door to the room to secure T-Bone's safety and identity. She was startled by a knock on the door.

She climbed stiffly to her feet and unlocked it and peered out. Razor stood there, a notebook and pen in his paw. She smiled and let him in. He moved to T-Bone's side and looked down at him a moment before taking another seat near the one Felina had been sitting on. She locked the door and sat down across from him.

Razor had opened his notebook and she could see a page full of schematics drawn there.

"What's that?" She asked rubbing an eye.

"T-Bone's new arm." He said. "I'm using a glovatrix as my matrix and converting it into a fully working arm. Professor Hackle is going to use his expertise to help us attach the robot arm to T-Bone's shoulder. He has the know how to make the connections between robot and living tissue. If it works like we hope, T-Bone will be able to use this arm just like his original except this one will be metal and have all his armaments built in. He won't need an external glovatrix. The Professor is willing to make the arm but not the armaments. I'll be doing those." Razor explained.

"Sounds great! I'm not surprised the Professor won't build the weapons in the arm not after all the trouble he endured with the Metallikats." She said quietly then eyed the smaller tom for a moment. "You gonna be ok?"

Razor nodded "Yeah thanks Felina." He smiled. "Get some sleep."

Felina sighed and nodded. She lowered the side rail to T-Bone's bed and laid down next to him on his uninjured side. She took his left paw in hers and closed her eyes.

Razor watched the pair for a little. He smiled, glad T-Bone had someone like Felina. He was equally glad she was their friend. He sighed and returned to his schematics. He needed to get it done soon.

When Felina woke the next morning, T-Bone was still resting quietly and on the other bed beside them, Razor was asleep, his notebook opened beside him. Yawning, she slipped off the bed and walked over to Razor. She carefully took the notebook and pencil away and put them on a table then gently reached for his helmet to remove it.

Razor snapped awake, grabbing her hand. "It's me." She said quietly. "I was just trying to remove your helmet so that you could sleep easier. Now, why don't you do that and get some more sleep. I'm going to get some coffee. I'll lock the door." She told him.

Razor sighed and nodded, removing his helmet and putting it aside. "Make sure it's locked from the inside." He muttered, closing his eyes again.

"Always do." She said "Rest well guys." Felina walked out of the room and pulled the door shut. She turned and came face to face with her uncle and Callie Briggs.

"How are they?" Callie asked folding her arms across her chest.

"Resting." Felina told them easily. "I'll let you in to see them in a bit. I'm going to get some coffee." With that she turned to start off down the hall when she was stopped by her uncle.

"You'll let us in?" Feral said in annoyance. "Felina I'm in charge."

"It's six in the morning, Razor's exhausted and T-Bone is sedated. They trust me to protect their safety and their identities while they are in our paws. They are not enforcers and don't need your harassment right now, Uncle!" She told her Commander bluntly, willing to take a charge of insubordination if necessary.

Feral began to fume. "Felina…" He growled warningly.

"Enough!" Ms. Briggs snapped, walking between the two of them and putting a paw on Felina's shoulder and one on Feral's chest. "Keep me updated Felina," She said to the she-kat then turned to the Commander. "Feral let's go talk …" She said firmly, releasing them and starting to walk down the hallway.

Glaring at Felina a moment then shaking his head, Feral followed the Deputy Mayor.

It was several hours later, when T-Bone woke, suddenly groaning, his breathing heavy. "No..." He mumbled.

Razor jerked up from his contemplation of the ceiling. He'd gotten some sleep and was thinking about the schematics he was working on. He climbed off the bed and hurried to T-Bone's side. He really wasn't supposed to be awake but the strong tabby had fought off the sedatives.

"T-Bone…" He said softly. His partner continued to moan. "Ohhh Chance...it's alright...shhh."

"Uhhh...Razor?..." T-Bone mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"Yeah, it's me buddy. Take it easy and try not to move too much." Razor said gently.

"Tell me….how bad...is it?" The tabby asked, his face tight with pain.

"Your right arm…is gone …." Razor said, swallowing his sorrow. "I'm sorry pal."

T-Bone sighed, moaned and rolled his head away from his friend. Razor was concerned as he moved away from the bed and went to the door. He unlocked it and peered out. An enforcer security guard was standing there and eyed him cautiously.

"What'cha need?" He asked.

"The doc that took care of T-Bone and Professor Hackle, please." Razor asked politely.

"Yes sir." The guard said reaching for his radio.

Razor turned back into the room, suppressing a yawn as he relocked the door and went to sit in the chair beside T-Bone's bed. He took his friends paw in his.

"I'm really sorry, buddy." He murmured.

"Sssnot your fault. Stop...apologizing...you did...what you had to..." T-Bone scolded, panting as talking took a lot out of him. "Big Red …is gonna be…big dead …when I get a hold…of him…" T-Bone hissed out, squeezing Razor's paw.

"Shhh…stop talking." Razor said, stroking his buddy's arm to soothe him. "Everything will be fine, I promise."


	2. Set Ablaze

HOW FAR THE MIGHTY HAVE COME

Chapter Two: Set Ablaze

T-Bone's eye twitched as he slowly raised his right arm in the air from his seated position on a lab stool. Twisting his wrist, he heard the joints squeak. Nodding slowly, he murmured, "Needs a bit of oil, but I think it'll be ok, Professor."

He yawned as he watched Professor Hackle gently pull the mechanical arm down then begin to solder the smaller wires together at the elbow joint. T-Bone's uniform was down around his hips and revealing only a white tank top that he wore underneath. His head was covered by the black bandanna, he and Razor wore to hide their identities.

Professor Hackle finished his soldering, blew on the hot ends to cool them before tucking them into the small open hatch then snapping the lid closed to seal it up. He reached for a small lubricant bottle and gently applied it to the joint. Finished, he took the metal paw in his own and twisted it experimentally......no more squeak. He released it, pushed up his dark goggles then reached for his cane. He stepped back, a pleased look on his face.

T-Bone smiled, moving the new arm slowly, getting used to it. "Thanks, Professor. I don't know how I would have gone on without both my paws." He said gratefully.

"You are quite welcome, lad. I am glad to have been of assistance. Now, you should have a decent range of motion.....just don't overtax it. You've been sedated for months now and must take it easy getting back in shape. Don't rush it. I know its hard for someone like you to take it slow but your recovery will go much smoother if you do." Hackle gently admonished him.

"I know and I'll do my best to obey but you're right. It will be hard since so much of my life has been lost to me. Everything after the incident is just so much mush." T-Bone complained mildly.

"I understand. But it was necessary, so that your body wouldn't reject the new limb." Hackle said, patting the big tom's leg in commiseration. "Just take it easy for a little bit longer, lad."

"Yeah, I promise." T-Bone sighed in resignation then took a deep breath "I do feel much better and I'm anxious to get back to work." He said getting up from the stool and walking over to a nearby mirror.

The image staring back at him showed one yellow arm with his trademark stripes and the other looked like a car transmission had been attached to his shoulder. It was still a shock and he was forced to close his eyes a moment.

Behind him, Professor Hackle quietly hobbled to his side. "Give it time lad. You don't want to do too much to soon. Your body is just not ready for your usual full action, my friend." He said quietly then presented something to the tom. "Here, this will help you feel less......different." He handed T-Bone a sleeve that was so well made it appeared as if it had been ripped off a real Kat.

Surprised and pleased, T-Bone took the sleeve and slid it on like a glove except it went all the way to his shoulder. The Professor had even thought to make hook ups on the sleeve that matched small pins on the arm which held it firmly in place so it wouldn't slid off too easily.

He looked back in the mirror and was astonished at how much like his real arm it appeared.

"Wow. Great work, Professor. No one would know its not my real arm."

"I'm glad you like it." Hackle said, sighing mentally in relief. He had been concerned T-Bone would be upset by the covering.

T-Bone continued to stare at his image. He sighed inwardly. Yeah, it looked like his arm but he knew it wasn't, however, he refused to dwell on that.....he was alive and that's what counted. He reached up and detached the sleeve and pulled it off.

"Thanks for this, Professor." T-Bone said indicating the sleeve he held in his paw. "It will help when I want to look normal in my other identity but as a SWAT Kat, I don't really care about that so much and it might get torn up on the job. Everyone knows T-Bone lost his arm so hiding it is unnecessary." Hackle nodded in agreement and was pleased T-Bone had accepted this change to his body with good grace.

"I believe your partner is ready for you in the West Wing Hanger." He said, changing the subject.

"Oh, okay......hey, Professor......what happens if my SWAT Kat duties trashes your work......" T-Bone asked in concern.

"Don't worry. I've made three identical ones but after that...it will be your partner's responsibility." Hackle told him reassuringly. "Blessings on you." He said over his shoulder as he made his way out of the lab.

T-Bone smiled after the elderly tom and called out, "Have a good night Professor." He left by an opposite door of the lab using his new metal paw to push open the door, stepping into a hallway beyond. As he walked down it, he received a few awkward glances from enforcers and civilians alike. He ignored them as he made his way to a security door and entered a six digit pass code.

The doors slid open and he stepped through letting them slide closed behind him. Not far from the entryway there was a small office and sitting at the desk inside was Razor who looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"Hey there......you're lookin' good!" He said with a broad smile of welcome, getting up from his rolling chair to stand before his partner.

T-Bone raised his metal arm and rolled his wrist around, bending the elbow joint. "Hackle does great work."

"That's for sure…let's see if mine is any better." Razor said with a smile and motioned T-Bone along with him to his desk. "Your glovatrix."

"Hey....they're black!" T-Bone said in surprise.

"Yeah and so is all our new stuff." Razor said smiling. "Black and green are our new colors. This glovatrix is for your use for now until I get your internal arms system online." He told his partner.

"But I liked red and blue." T-Bone objected.

"I did too, but....well with all the new upgrades......weapons, stealth technology....." Razor started to tell him before the tabby interrupted.

"Stealth technology?"

"Yeah, courtesy of Feral. He's accepted the fact we're in this fight too so we got some hand-me-down tech."

"Stuff that doesn't work......right?"

"Hehheh! Yeah." Razor nodded.

"But you can fix it all and make it better." T-Bone said with certainty rather than asked, a smirk on his face.

"Bingo." Razor smirked back then made a sweeping gesture to the back of their workshop.

Feral had given them a small compartment off the main hanger and landing strip to keep their jet, and remaining vehicles in.

"You've been pretty much out of commission for weeks pal. I just kept working." He said, walking toward a huge tarp draped object.

"I just bet you have." T-Bone grunted, fidgeting with his arm.

Grinning at his partner, Razor reached up and grabbed the edge of the tarp. After ten or so hard pulls, the tarp finally fell off the new jet. There sat the bigger sized Turbokat. She was painted black with dark green trim. Her nose was shaped and angled differently then T-Bone remembered and the wings were presently set, slightly back. Razor had not returned them to their flight position as this hanger was smaller than their old one and its clearance was extremely low and barely accommodated it.

"She looks good." T-Bone said admiringly as he walked around the nose of the jet reaching up his left paw to touch the metal.

"She'll fly like a dream too." Razor said proudly as he motioned his partner over to the side of the hangar. "Check these out." He pulled a tarp off three engines that lay along the far wall. "Felina nailed these for us."

"Those are two models up from the engines we're currently using." T-Bone said excitedly, eyes lighting up. "I need to get that fem flowers or something." He frowned in concern a moment later and pointed a gloved metal paw toward the jet. "Geez, buddy, is she going to be able to handle the power output?"

"Yes Felina and I have been working on the refit." Razor nodded "It's gonna be good to have you back in the saddle again, buddy. I can't do this without you."

"I missed you too, braniac." T-Bone said, grinning happily. "Let me do something first, though." He said, moving to Razor's desk and pulling the glovatrix off, laying it on the desk before pulling the sleeve the Professor gave him from a pocket and pulling it on over his metal paw and arm. Razor was eyeing him curiously when T-Bone looked up again. "Don't want to scratch your paint."

"Good idea since with you it's bound to happen." Razor snorted good naturedly.

T-Bone just snorted back and grabbed an impact drill. "Ok, where do you want to start."

Before Razor could respond, the radio attached to his shoulder suddenly signaled.

Frowning, Razor answered, "This is Razor."

"Sub Commander Razor, we need to know if you need the old parts in hangar bay two tossed or kept?" A dispatcher asked.

"Keep them for at least a minimum of two weeks. We're beginning the refit of the Turbokat engines tonight." He told them.

"Roger, Commander."

"Commander?" T-Bone blurted in shock.

"A lot's happened while you've been out of commission for the past five months, buddy. Surprised Felina didn't tell you." Razor said quietly

"I didn't ask much and most of the time I was too out of it to have heard the answer anyway." T-Bone muttered, not looking at his partner but at the jet. He hopped into the open bombay door then looked around.

Razor joined him and explained what had been happening. "Feral made me and you a sub commander. There are eight sub commanders who are in charge of units made up of enforcers, civilians, city officials, and us. Felina is a sub commander as well."

"But I wasn't here! Why would he make me a sub commander too?" T-Bone asked as he studied the interior of his beloved jet.

"I told Feral I wouldn't accept the position unless you were one as well. I just forgot to mention it to you the last time we spoke." Razor said matter-of-factly as he looked down at his glovatrix and did some calculations.

"So we're enforcers again......great!" T-Bone said sarcastically.

"Well, not exactly, buddy. They follow us......we don't follow them." Razor smirked. "You might say, Feral and I came to an understanding. We have a bit of authority in this place now." Razor explained.

"What kind of authority?" T-Bone asked turning to face his friend.

"We can get things we need and get things done in the field. If we determine the situation is too dangerous we have the right to call a retreat. We're all in this together so we have to work together but they won't get in our way and we won't get in theirs." His partner elaborated.

T-Bone shook his head in amazement. "Sounds like a dream and I like it." He turned back to the walls of the bombay and nodded at the hatch panel. "This panel needs to go."

Razor moved forward and studied the panel. It was rusted on the seal and locking hinges. "Yeah, you're right. Go ahead and unbolt the left side. I think we can sand blast the rust and salvage most of it." He determined, pulling the hinge down. "I'll ask one of the supply kats if he's got a new hinge around they can give us that's not in too bad a shape."

"Sounds good."

"I'll have Ms. Briggs bring us some food too."

"Been spending a lot of time with Callie huh?" T-Bone asked casually. Razor didn't say anything except to give him a small nod and to laugh a bit. "Kiss her yet?"

Razor turned, giving T-Bone an incredulous look. "I can not believe you said that."

"Why?!" T-Bone laughed. "Have you?"

Razor grabbed a few tools, jumped back out of the bombay and walked around the front of the jet not looking at T-Bone who had leaned down and was peering out the bombay door at him. Sighing to himself, Razor gave a sharp nod without turning around.

"You sly tom….Does she know who you are?" T-Bone jumped down from the bombay, suddenly, gossip being better than work at the moment.

Razor was working on the opposite side of the jet but T-Bone walked around to his side and demanded, "Well?"

"That's my business T-Bone." Razor said keeping as calm as possible and reaching up to test a few wires from the side electrical hatch.

"Uh huh…then why is there a goofy as shit grin on your face when I say Callie." T-Bone said lazily.

Razor looked down shyly and smiled to himself, "She knows my name is Jake…that's it though, she has not seen me without my mask." He looked up at his friend. "No full disclosure yet…not like Felina."

"Don't trust her?" T-Bone asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"No, nothing like that…it's …just not the right time, T-Bone." Razor said, shrugging. "I have a lot of work…I don't need her to be too worried about me."

"Does she love you?" T-Bone asked more seriously, looking down at his feet, shuffling his foot a bit.

"Yes." Razor said succinctly keeping an eye on his readings. He sounded very annoyed by the questioning.

"Then she's worried about you anyway." T-Bone said, patting his smaller partner's shoulder. "Just a bit of advice buddy…life is too short…tell her." He warned then walked back to the rear of the jet, Razor's eyes followed him thoughtfully.

He mulled his friend's words over in his mind a moment longer. He bite his lip as he realized his friend was right. No amount of planning, prearranging, or hope that things would change and be better for them all was a good reason to withhold telling Callie who he was and making time for the both of them. T-Bone was right, cease the moment because tomorrow might never come except for regrets for what might have been.

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Outside the entrance to the hidden enforcer base, two enforcers, a yellow tom and a white she kat, were on guard. After passing a jeep through the entrance, something caught the she-kat's eye.

"Jace, did you see that?" She asked anxiously, searching the sky where she'd thought she'd seen a flicker of movement.

"See what?" He asked, looking quickly around as well. Seeing nothing he frowned at her in annoyance. "You're getting paranoid."

"Our city is dragon infested and you're calling me paranoid?" She snarled at him when she spotted a blur moved through her peripheral vision. "There!" She cried, turning but again there was nothing. She hissed in frustration.

The tom snorted in disgust, "Ok, that does it!" He crossed over the driveway and grabbed her arm then turned on his heel, he began to drag her back inside. "You are going to...Ahhhh....." He screamed as talons snatched him into the air. His grip on the she kat was broken and she was dropped to the ground.

She screamed for help as she tried to life her rifle from her prone position but it was too late. The dragon and the tom were gone without a trace.

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Alarms went off. Felina, who had been near the front entrance, heard the enforcer scream, hit the alarm with her fist then ran out to snatch her inside. As she dragged her fellow officer to safety, she bellowed orders.

"ALL SECURITY INSIDE NOW! WE'RE ON IMMEDIATE LOCK DOWN!" The word was passed on quickly and enforcers were scrambling to seal the entryways.

As she passed the shocked she kat over to others, a choked voice said, "It was Red!" Felina glanced at the female guard as she was led away but nodded to let her know she had heard her.

In the west wing hangar, T-Bone was drilling off the bomb-bay door while Razor held it when he heard the alarm. He tapped his partner's shoulder. T-Bone shut the drill and listened to the shouted command to lock down.

Setting his drill down, he followed Razor who had already jumped to the floor and was racing to his office for his glovatrix. He handed his partner his own then the two of them hurried to the secured door to the hangar.

"Must be uninvited guests. Got anything to make them unwelcome, Razor?" T-Bone asked as they hurried down the hall together.

"Oh yeah." Razor said "I've got new missles loaded with high potency sedatives. Should send that dragon sleepy bye real quick." He smirked. "Come on let's knock that thing out."

"Right behind you, buddy." T-Bone said as they came to another door that was open and into the main hangar where Felina was.

"Fel what's going on?" T-Bone asked her as they came up to her side.

"You shouldn't be here!" She snapped.

"Hey, if I don't get to tell you no then you don't get to tell me the same." He growled firmly, grabbing her left shoulder and squeezing it lovingly.

She sighed but capitulated and made for another section of the hangar. "Fine, whatever! Let's just get this done!"

A familiar voice roared, "FELINA! NO!" Feral had just walked into the hangar and spotted the three making their way across the floor.

Beside him another voice snorted a derisive remark. "Will you just stop that!" Callie said flatly, walking up behind the powerful tom. "You know the three of them make an efficient team and have a better chance of succeeding."

Feral grunted his displeasure but subsided. Callie was right and he knew when he was in an untenable position which was far too often lately. He offered a prayer his niece would survive intact and come back to him safely.

Razor smirked and pulled ahead of the group to smash a paw against the small door button. Inside the room were three bikes, two of which were the tandem and single cyclotrons plus a Honda cycle.

Felina reached her bike first and smirked at them as she jumped aboard and started the engine.

"Keep up with me guys!" Felina sang out as she maneuvered her bike out the door.

"Not a problem, Lt Feral." T-Bone called out to her then added, "Boy, do I love her."

"Shut up and drive lover boy." Razor snorted as he climbed on behind his partner. "You think your arm will be okay for this?" He asked softly.

"It's fine." T-Bone bit back a bit more sharply than he meant to. "Everything is fine." He reiterated as the bike roared to life. "Let's just hope the gloveatrix and my arm get along." T-Bone said quietly, wiggling his metal fingers experimentally and feeling the glovatrix mesh smoothly with it.

He was startled when he felt the glovatrix act like part of his arm. That's when he remembered Hackle had warned him the day before that he could now interface with machines. The cables running up his arms connected to small microchips that were installed behind his ear and up into his brain. He had complete control of his new extremity. It felt weird and he still had to learn the extent of his abilities and that would come when he tested them out.

'Well, now was as good a time as any.' He thought.

"Let's do this." T-Bone said pulling out and following Felina's path out of the hangar and onto the street. She was no where in sight when they reached the outdoors.

Suddenly over the radio came a chirp and a beep then Felina's voice. "Big Red picked off one of the guards, now he's heading into the inner city toward the bay."

"He's going back home." T-Bone growled.

"Something's wrong! Big Red's leading us into his territory." Razor said worriedly. "Lt Feral come back.....come back to the base now." He ordered as T-Bone halted the bike just a short distance from the base and stared off into the distance.

"Why?" She asked.

"He only took one guard, Felina. He's still hungry and is trying to lead us to him." T-Bone said sharply. "Come back to us so we can regroup and decide what to do."

"Roger! On my way ba..tzzz tzz T-Bone zzzt zztsss...." She replied but her voice was being buried in static.

"Razor?" He demanded in concern.

"I know! That's not good!" Razor acknowledged as he tried to fine tune the frequency without any luck. "It's not on our end."

"Contact the Commander! I'm going on!" T-Bone told Razor.

"Roger, buddy." His partner said quickly then switched frequencies. "This is Razor! …T-Bone and I are heading downtown in pursuit of Big Red. We have lost contact with Lt. Feral who was out ahead of us. Requesting ground support."

"Understood!" Came Commander Feral's reply. "We're on our way."

"Keep in mind Commander, this thing only picked off one of the hangar guards and then went back home…it's trying to draw us out…this might get ugly." Razor warned.

"It's been ugly for a year Razor…I'm not concerned." Feral said then the radio went silent.

T-Bone turned his head to look at his partner a moment, his neck popping slowly in sequence. "Problem is …I am." T-Bone said worriedly, searching the sky with a hint of desperation in his hidden eyes.


End file.
